Going Backward - and Why (Part 3)

Friday, June 07, 2013

Today I need to address Sparking in general and SparkTime in particular. Like many other areas of my life, something has gone wrong here and needs to be fixed.

Of course, at the beginning of SparkPeople, we race through the levels - and it feels good! But I let the "rush" get to me, and I got really competitive with myself and others about racking up SparkPoints. I just HAD to be #1 on a team or two for the month. And I was - but it was an empty accomplishment. Even when I was consistently in the top 3 of my small teams and top 25 on some of the larger ones, I still felt like a fraud.

And I was being a fraud. I was making sure to list each cup of coffee separately, because that meant that the cream gave me 3 SparkPoints instead of one. If I had a salad, I listed each veggie separately for the same reason: SparkPoints. I huddled for the points, rarely reading what any of the rest of you were saying. I signed up for SparkCoach for the "easy" 25 points a day, not to really learn from it. I could give many more examples, but you get the picture.

So what did I do when I started? I used the quick track and kept track of only water and freggies for two weeks. All of my fitness minutes went on quick track too. It was only later that I set a mileage goal and put my walking on the Fitness Tracker. I had exactly 3 goals, my fast break ones. It worked.

So as part of my going backward, I have deleted all my team and special goals. Yes, that deletes the streaks too, and I'm glad they're gone. I went back to only 3 goals. I'm not going to use the nutrition or fitness trackers for at least two weeks, just the quick track. I'll work on putting SparkCoach to its intended use. I'll huddle regularly - and purposefully. I'll aim to post on one thread for each of my five most important teams daily. I'll be in touch individually with my SparkFriends, one each day, with a comment on your SparkPage or blog, or by giving a goodie.

There are others of you out there whose blogs I've subscribed to without doing Friend requests. You have all become special to me for a variety of reasons, and I'll still be reading your blogs faithfully. And, of course, I'll pay more attention to the team I lead than the others.

But for now, that will be my Sparking. Friends and subscribed bloggers, I love you all.

DIANEWITHASMILE
Good for you! I found that too, a couple of years ago, I wasn't actively working on weight loss and fitness just sparking...I stepped away, now I'm back! I'm fitting in the exercise and my teams, and blogging! I'm excited, but definitely needed that break! Good luck on focusing on what's important!!!1746 days ago